Farther Afield

Fairacre's schoolmistress, Miss Read, usually greets the end of the school year with real relief, as most teachers do, and the summer holiday is meant to be a restful stretch. Her plans go awry on the very first day, when a fall leaves her with a broken arm. Her friend of many years, Amy Garfield, offers a cure for the disappointment: a trip to Crete. The two spend a fortnight there, and the new surroundings do them both a great deal of good.

Miss Read returns to her village rested and ready for the tasks waiting for her. This is one of the Fairacre novels, gentle stories of English village life centered on a small rural school and the people who share its daily routines. Miss Read is the pen name of Dora Saint, a former schoolteacher whose own classroom experience informs the books.